Free
by Sophie Okudara
Summary: This is an OC x Thorin fic with the plot and story being similar to Jane Eyre. It just sprung up on me. Leia is an 84 year old dwarf-elf-fairy-human hybrid who has been commissioned by her old friend Gandalf the Gray to join the company of Thorin Oakenshield on his quest to reclaim Erebor and defeat the dragon Smaug. Will she fall in love or be left heart broken and angry?
1. Chapter 1

**I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BUT MY OC!**

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><p>Leia, that was the name my mother gave me. A name that was not of any race. A name of an outcast and a misfit. I had just made my 84th year and had not aged since my 50th birthday. I appear to some as a human woman in her mid-twenties, but that was due to my elvish and fairy blood. my blood, oh how the world looked at me and my very being with disdain and malice. i was a mistake that never should have happened. my mother a woman of elvish and fairy blood fell in love with my father a man with dwarvish and human blood. and through their union they created me. They died many years ago and are but a far off memory with hardly any distinct images left for me to remember.<p>

I spent my early years with my father's human relations but as my kin grew older I stayed the same and eventually the differences started to take their toll. The journey with them ended with my developing of fairy powers. My emotions got the better of me one day and I exploded my cousin's study. His wife had me kicked out of their home the next morning.

I journeyed far till the lady Galadriel found me during her trip back from her visit to lord Elrond in Rivendell. my clothes were soiled and my flesh gray from malnutrition. I was at death's door when she found me. I have no recollection of where I was at the time of her finding me but that matters not now, for the great Lady of the wood took me in and nursed me. She brought me up as one of her own, taught me how to read and write, speak elvish and later helped me hone my powers. she knew of my dwarvish blood and had books sent from lord Elrond's library brought over. i slowly taught myself khazudul and started experimenting in the smith's shop. that was the day i discovered my greatest power, my power over metal and earth. the smiths eventually grew weary of me and complained to lord Celeborn and lady Galadriel. i was outcasted again, lady Galadriel called upon the services of Radagast the brown to continue in my tutelage.

A kind wizard he was, so gentle and humorous. We became close friends he and I but his diet for mushrooms and all things green did not help my growing body and eventually I took to hunting. I made myself a bow and some arrows and attempted to hunt. Radagast found out and due to his relationships with the animals of the greenwood had me then transferred into the care of Gandalf the Grey. Gandalf was a wise wizard, full of riddles and mischief. He taught me to hunt, how to hold a sword properly, and then one day on 45th birthday he took me to the shire, within the outskirts of hobbiton and bequeathed me the ownership of the very cottage I live in now.

He said to me, "My dear girl," he looked to me with a twinkle in his eye, "it is time for you to make your own path. You have all the knowledge and skill you need to carve out a life you feel you deserve."

I looked to him confused, "But Gandalf what will I do? I have no name, no family, and now you say you will leave me like everyone else has. What am I to do?"

"You have a name my dear. Leia, I believe was what your mother named you."

"A name that has no ties to no house or relations. I have been cast out and will be pushed and prodded by the people of this land. I am vermin, dirty blooded and unloved."

Gandalf stuffed more pipe weed into his long pipe, "My dear," he said while looking up at me from behind his gray brimmed hat. "you are not vermin, you are what you make yourself to be. If you work hard and keep to yourself no one will question your blood and will only look to your character. I give you this cottage and all that it entails with the pure confidence in your person. I believe it is now that time for you to be in charge of your own life and not be told where to go and what do by others. You are a free being with an independent will, it is now time for you to make your own decisions."

It had been a quiet night, we hardly spoke a word to one another. My dwarfish blood being the cause of my stubbornness, but eventually I saw Gandalf's point. On the seventh day I said good bye to my old friend until we'd meet again.

I had built a life for myself after many years of struggle, discrimination and loneliness. I worked hard, alone in my little cottage and shed outside of Hobbiton. The people of Hobbiton regarded me well enough after I was able to fix many door hinges and make fine metal work for their homes. They didn't bother with me, I didn't bother with them. And so was my life. The world was an unforgiving place full of hate and violence and here in the shire I found solace and purity among the small folk.

And now, on this day I pack my tools and paints and walk to see Mister Bilbo Baggins. I had just painted his front door last week and for some reason felt the need to check up on him. He was a good customer who always paid on time and was friendly. Many a time i had been welcomed in for tea and sandwiches, so for his generosity and kindness i would come and check on his house to make sure everything was in order. it was a grand hobbit hole, one of the oldest in the shire. on my way there i noticed a tall gray figure in front of master Baggins's house. the closer i got the more pointy the hat became and i knew then that my old friend was up to something and it involved my poor customer. i walked up the hill and as i got closer to the hobbit hole, Gandalf turned around and saw me.

"Ah! There you are dear girl," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "you've grown I see."

"Aye master Gandalf I have. What pray tell brings you to hobbiton and more precisely to one of my best customer's doorstep?"

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><p><strong>PLEASE COMMENT! DON'T HAZE THOUGH!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**HI ALL. HERE'S A NEW CHAPTER. I OWN NOTHING BUT MY OC! AND ALSO, UPDATES MAY TAKE A WHILE AS THE SCHOOL YEAR IS STARTING TO BUILD UP!**

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><p>I stood before my old friend, he hadn't changed even after being gone four decades, he tried to convey a look of innocence as I repeated my question. "What are you doing in front of Master Baggins's house?"<p>

"Oh nothing my dear, just checking in on Belladonna's son that's all."

The twinkle in his eye did not go unnoticed and as I peered behind him to look upon my most valued customer's door I noticed a mark on it. I looked to Gandalf with as much visible annoyance one could convey. "You do know that I had just painted Master Baggins's door just last week?"

"No wonder the color was so vibrant! Excellent job! But I now need to speak to you about an important matter that does have to do with the mark on Bilbo Baggins door and don't look at me like that you can always paint to over later on."

He walked past me whistling a tune, and headed towards the direction of my cottage. I looked at the mark on Master Baggins's door and immediately knew it was khuzdul, "What business would dwarves have with a halfling Gandalf?"

"I will explain over a cup of tea back at the cottage my dear and do be patient with me. Try to channel you're inner elf and not your dwarf because this may take all afternoon."

I sighed, and walked closely behind him till we reached the picked fence that surrounded my home. He stood in front of the gate and inspected the cottage like how one would inspect jewelry. A smile creeps up on my old friend's face, "I see you've done many repairs since I last saw you."

"Yes, well, not that I am complaining but you did leave me with a run down excuse of a structure. Thank the Valar you left so many tools and enough money for me just to get by that first few years!"

The cottage had been in bad shape when I first arrived those forty years ago. The roof had holes and what was left of the rafters had become home to birds and insects. The hearth was filled to the hilt with what remained of the last owners coals and fire wood, the rooms all smelt of mildew and was not livable for at least a good month of cleaning. The well in the back of the cottage was filled with moist dirt indicating that the underground river was blocked. The shed or little barn was not even a reality or a minute idea, in its place was dead ferns and grass. I lived in a tent the first month while i cleaned out the cottage, tore down all the walls and re-plastered the whole interior. Oh Valar the smell! Nobody came near the cottage, especially the hobbits who I sometimes consider shallow beings both figuratively and literally. They only started to become somewhat cordial when I put in the freshly painted picked fence, replaced all the thatching on my roof, repainted the house and fixed all the windows, and finally got rid of some of the weeds in my front yard. The first person to arrive was Master Baggins.

I remember him walking towards me with his pipe in hand and a little woven basket that had the best tasting sandwiches I'd ever eaten. I had just made my tenth year at the cottage. Oh the struggle of getting supplies and at the same time be able to have enough for food and other essential items. Bilbo was a hobbit of nine and ten years, his mother Belladonna had sent him that day to check on me. I remember him saying, "Hello miss! My mother, Belladonna Took-Baggins, has sent me to check on you! She would have come herself but she has come down with a dreadful cold."

I looked up from my work in the garden, which was not too bad considering I did not have a green thumb like the rest of my community. Wiping the sweat from my brow I looked up at the young hobbit before me and smiled, "Thank you, you're probably the first person to talk to me without me initiating the conversation."

"You speak well for someone so young! Do you live by yourself? How have you been doing all the repairs on the cottage?" So many questions, so much talking. He always was a nervous hobbit now that I think about it. After a spew of more questions about how I was able to do all I did, I finally channeled in when he said, "Why you must not be more than three and ten years!"

I chuckled and looked back up at the hobbit, "My dear sir you flatter me with your estimation of my age but I am of five and fifty years." The look on the hobbit's face was priceless, I could see the screws in his head moving fast trying to figure out if I was lying or not. I look to his little basket and his pipe, "How bout we sit and enjoy what snacks you've brought and smoke some pipeweed while I familiarize myself with you?"

I took out my little tin where I kept my paper rolled pipe weed and patted the section of grass next to me. Master Baggins looked skeptical of me but sat anyway. I told him my heritage but left out all the major events with the human relatives, the elves, and Radagast since they were unpleasant memories and I did not want to unload my troubles onto him. I always hated it when people would talk to me out of pity and I preferred that my relationship with Master Baggins did not start with pity. He was fascinated with my different blood ties and wanted to know how that affected me. I told him how my dwarvish and elvish blood slowed down my aging and how my fairy would one day affect my aging. "You see Mister…"

"Bilbo Baggins."

"Mr. Bilbo, when a fairy meets their beloved their whole being down to their very essence works to be what their beloved needs them to be." He looked confused so I continued, "For example, if a fairy were to fall in love with an elf then the fairy would live an immortal life unless the elf dies in battle or sickness then the fairy will die with its beloved. A fairy's fate is tied to their beloved and their longevity solely depends on their beloved."

"Have you met your beloved, Miss…"

"Leia, just Leia, and no Mr. Bilbo. I have not met my beloved nor do I wish to meet whoever he may be."

"Why?" He looked at me with a sad expression, like I had just pooled the rug of childhood from under him and gave him the harsh reality that lay outside of Hobbiton.

"Because love is strange; it is painful, cruel and violent. Love only ends with death."

"Your mother was part fairy, so when your father died she died with him?"

"Yes," I said. I took a breath and continued, "And now I am all alone."

"Oh Miss Leia, you are not alone! You have me and my mother will positively love you as well!"

I look at him, sadness in the back of my minds. The Baggins's were a well respected lot of Hobbits and my friendship would only harm their reputations. "Mr. Bilbo, I don't think your father would appreciate any association with a hybrid."

"And right you are!" We turned around sharply to see Mr. Bungo Baggins smoking his pipe, glaring daggers at the two of us. "Bilbo let's go!"

"But mother said I was to check up on her-"

"Your mother of a Took is too adventurous and wild at heart to understand the respect of the Baggins name! You and your mother and I will be having a serious talk over dinner!" He dragged his son off back home to Bag End.

To say I wasn't hurt would be a lie but the pain was dull and didn't matter to me anymore than a small bruise. I hardly spoke to Bilbo outside of a business like manner after that. His mother and father fought so much that Hamfast Gamgee knocked on my door to ask what had put Bungo Baggins in such a foul mood. In the end though, Belladonna got her way and I had become the Baggins's handy person from then on. Master Bungo wasn't too pleased at first till he noticed the attention his home was getting once I put the finishing touches on Bag End. It became the highlight of Hobbiton, everyone admired and envied the Baggins's and wanted my services as well. In Bungo Baggins's eyes I was the best hired help in the Shire and he did not want to share my skills with anyone else. So to ensure my loyalty as he so put it, he and his son came in the early hours of the morning one spring day and fixed up my garden. Bungo told me, "Just water them everyday and make sure to get rid of any weeds and your garden should be fine." That was the nicest gift he gave me and I'd like to think that at the end of his days he thought better of me.

I'm pulled out of my trip down memory lane when Gandalf says something, "Sorry, Gandalf. What did you say?"

"I asked, my dear, when did you build that marvelous tool shed? And may I say the choice of color is lovely."

My beloved, red tool shed. It held all my saws, axes, chisels, nails and hammers. I built it with the intention of having a place to do my metal work. My first commission was to fix Belladonna's single pearl necklace Bungo gave her after their wedding. The pearl had fallen off and she wanted me to fix the soldered loop that kept the pearl on its chain. The gold needed to be polished and being Belladonna I wasn't just going to fix it. I cleaned the chain and the pearl and changed the entire setting of the pearl, after talking to Bungo to ensure I did not change the gift he had given his wife, and fixed the clasp so that she would never have to worry about her necklace falling from its place. Belladonna was so proud of her necklace she showed it off to all the women who came to her tea parties and eventually I had a long list of repairs by the hobbit women. I made enough money that year to buy a new set of breeches, two shirts, a nice leather belt, a corduroy over coat, and some nice ribbon to tie my hair with and keep the braids my father put in place. My father's only dwarf quality that I remember of him was his love of braids and his beard. He had a magnificent, thick, black beard with many braids and beads that represented events in his life. My mother's favorite beads were the ones that represented their wedding and my birth. I have them braided in my hair as keepsakes of the people I hardly know but should.

I turn back to Gandalf and tell him about the tool shed and the side business I had there besides my handy person responsibilities to Bag End. "Come inside, old friend! So I may show you what I have done with the place! You will be glad to know that the awful mildew smell has been gone for some decades now and no holes are in the roof!"

I was proud of my cottage. It had taken a while to fix but it was now a place to live in. A place to call home. Gandalf was very impressed with the work I had done and sat at my dining table as I got the kettle going. "My dear Leia, I am glad to see you so content with life. But unfortunately I may need you to leave all your comforts behind for a while."

I set the tea bags down and look at Gandalf, I wasn't surprised. The old saying about wizards bringing chaos and mischief in the form of quests was always in the backs of people's minds. What troubled me, though, was Master Baggins's role in Gandalf's scheme. "Does this involve Master Baggins's to leave his comforts as well? He is a hobbit, Gandalf. He may have been Belladonna's son but he is still a Baggins of Bag End and they are not the adventure seeking folk like the Tooks."

"It involves the hobbit and you, you two are very important for the journey my troupe and I are about to undertake."

"What role would you have me in, if I may ask." I hear the kettle go and start to poor the water into the tea cups.

"You're knowledge of elven and dwarf culture will be important on our quest and since you have…" he was trying to word my heritage in the most polite way possible. "… a colorful background you'll be a mediator of sorts. Also, I assume you are still good with your bow?"

"Yes, Gandalf. I am."

"Then what I hear is true, that you have gotten so good you hit your targets in the eye! Such a clean shot!"

"Gandalf, those are animals, not people." Two very different things, I can distance myself from an animal and feel little to no remorse but a conscious thing is an entirely different story.

"My dear our journey involves the chance meetings with goblins and orcs. Unless you categorize them as people then I can see a problem, but I know you hate them as much as elves and dwarves do." The hint was dropped. But I ignore it, he continues with, "Your hunting skills will be necessary as well as the skills in healing you've obtained during your time in Lothlorien. We will have a troupe of males who will need some sense knocked into them from time to time, and I cannot think of anyone more pure and sensible than you."

By now it has grown dark outside and the hobbit holes are all lit up. "You still have not answered my question in regards to Master Baggins."

"All will be told tonight at Bilbo's house. Now if you excuse me my dear I need to make sure the rest of our party is on time." He stands to leave then remembers something. He pulls out a package wrapped in parchment paper. "This is for you from me, a gift of sorts. You can choose to wear it whether or not you decide to join the quest, but I thought it would suit you better than poorly done breeches and oversized Hobbit shirts."

I open the package to find a fine leather out fit. The perfect clothes for a hunter; a brown leather doublet with metal work for shoulder guards, leather breeches of the same color and knee high leather boots with the evident craftsmanship of elves. I smile at Gandalf, for I never dreamed of owning such fine clothing. "Ah!" he exclaims, "I forgot as well!" He hands me a nice thick fur coat and a long rectangular box. I look at him inquisitively. "Open it," he says. I do so and find a bow and a quiver filled with arrows. "A gift from the prince of the Greenwood or should I say Mirkwood."

"What do you mean by Mirkwood Gandalf?"

"The world is changing for the worst I fear and I need you to help me ensure that this company survives their quest."

I look at the bow and arrows, the situation becoming more serious each second. "Fine," I say, "I will join your company."

He smiles at me, happy with my decision. "Good, now put on your new clothes and pack whatever you may need for the journey ahead. Then meet me in Bilbo's house. Oh and my dear, it's best if you don't refer to the company as being mine."

"Then whose is it?" I ask, slightly confused.

"You will meet him tonight, I must go my dear but I shall see you at Bilbo's!" And with that the Wizard left me more confused than when I first saw him today.

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	3. Chapter 3

**HI EVERYONE, HERE'S A NEW UPDATE! PLEASE REVIEW! 3**

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><p>The outfit Gandalf gifted me made me smile. I looked like a real hunter, the fantasy I had during my childhood years had come true. I had my things packed and in a rush had finished all my metal commissions and wrote letters to my customers that a personal event had arisen and I would not be in business for an extended period of time. I gave them referrals to the jeweler and metal smiths in Bree. I left my sack and my bow and arrows home as I walked to Bilbo's. I hope Gandalf wasn't pulling anything unexpected on him for Hobbits don't do well with surprises or anything that lacked in manner. I was half way to Bag End when I bumped into something. I heard a shout and then a tumble. I looked around me and saw a dwarf lying on the ground down the small slope of the road. He was none too pleased with my bumping into him. "Where in all of Middle Earth did you come from?!"<p>

"I'm sorry master dwarf but I did not see you!" I replied, a little annoyed with his rudeness. "Here let me help you."

"No, No! I am perfectly cable of helping myself!"

"Well if you insist…"

"I do!" He got back up onto the road and realigned his clothing and his axe. "What is a young maiden doing out at night wondering the streets of Hobbiton?"

He made it sound like Hobbiton was some amoral place, and as for his guess at my age, well, by now I was used to it. "I am on my way to an acquaintance's home, sir."

"You're sure you are not joining your people?" he remarked with what sounded like sarcasm.

"My people, sir?"

"The little fairies and sprites!"

"I have no people sir! And I have no knowledge of fairies and sprites in these lands." I studied him in that moment. For a dwarf, he was tall and not that bad looking. His eyes were sea of intense gray that have probably seen more horrors in the world than any of my books could have been written about.

"Well you should start making you way then, you never know what lies in the dark of night." He walked in the direction I came. I turned back to my path towards Bag End and went a little faster, not wanting to have to run into that unpleasant Dwarf again. I kept thinking back to that Dwarf and how his eyes were like a storm, but a beautiful one. If storms could be beautiful, that is what they might have looked like.

I had finally reached Bag End and could already hear poor Bilbo shouting, "Stop that!"

I knocked on the door and was greeted by the poor Hobbit himself, "Good evening Master Baggins."

The look of relief on the flustered hobbit's face was comical. "Oh, Leia! My dear friend," I held my shock in. This was the first time Bilbo had called me that. Well, I suppose we are friends and with Bungo gone, may he rest in peace, I suppose there is one less hobbit scowling. "You won't believe what is happening in my home! Dwarves are ransacking my pantry and ruining Mother's doilies!"

The mention of Belladonna Took's possessions being ruined started a fire in me. I bent down so I was near Bilbo's ear, "Don't worry dear friend, I will fix this wrong." Once inside I heard the dwarves singing and saw Gandalf smoking his pipe. He noticed me and was about to greet me till he saw my expression.

The dwarves were oblivious to my arrival and were what seemed midway through their song, "THAT'S WHAT BILBO BAGGINS HA-"

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MAHAL IS GOING ON!" I all but screamed. All noise and song stopped as all eyes were now on me. Behind me I could here Bilbo squeak. "Never have I seen such rude behavior! Nor have I ever seen anyone disregard someone's warnings about their mother's possessions being ignored! You dwarves are by far the rudest bunch I have ever met and are not making a great first impression on behalf of your kind!"

"Now see here miss-" started a bald tattooed dwarf.

"Silence!" I yelled. "My friend Master Baggins, has obviously not been informed about your company by that bloody mischievous wizard in the back," all eyes were now on Gandalf who looked taken aback. "Other wise had he have known he would not be in his house robe, his pantry would not be as empty as a desert, and his valued possessions stowed away properly from young rude dwarves!" The last was directed at the two dwarves who I assumed were brothers holding the doilies like as if they were rags.

"Miss," said a dwarf with a great white beard that separated in the middle. "We were just cleaning up."

"I can see that," I replied less harshly. "But when did throwing dishes and hitting knives together, Mahal and Valar forbid blunting them, count as cleaning?" All looked down as I said my peace. "Now give me what ever dishes you haven't finished so that I may properly clean them."

The house had quieted down, and as I kneeled near the sink, cleaning the last of Bilbo's dishes, I could feel all the dwarves' and one wizard's eyes on me. I felt a presence behind me as I dried the last spoon. There stood a tired Bilbo Baggins with a small smile on his face. "Thank you Leia. I don't know what I would do with out you."

"Probably have a stroke if that continued, or fainted." I replied. I wiped my hands off on a proper dish towel and walked made my way towards the company of dwarves. A seat was already waiting for me and apparently a bowl of stew. I looked up at, in my hasty count, twelve dwarves who were all looking down their beards saying small sorries. "You should be apologizing to Master Baggins, it wasn't my home you rummaged out of food and drink." As I said drink a dwarf with his hair tied back and fine braids in his beard poured me a cup of tea.

"Don't worry, Miss. This is from my own stash back in the Blue Mountains." I smiled at him, at least one was nice enough to bring something with him. "Master Baggins, would you like a cup of Chamomile tea as well?"

"Oh why thank you, I'd most definitely like to try some." Hobbits, always so full of manner and politeness even after someone or many someones have been rude.

At this Gandalf cleared his throat, "Well since everyone is settled." He eyed me as I slurped my stew. "May I introduce our hunter and new governess to Fili and Kili, Miss Leia of the Shire."

What a title, my old friend was trying to lessen the blow that would follow a later conversation. "At your service."

"Wait! Who said anything about a governess?" yelped one of the two brother dwarves who deduced to be Fili and Kili. "We're not little girls! And this mission won't leave time for such studies."

"Now, now Master Kili," I suppose the brunette was Kili and the blond Fili. Gandalf turned to them, "Your uncle had instructed me to find a hunter and a tutor for you. If we retake your homeland then you will become your uncle's heirs and must be educated in the history and lore of Middle Earth."

"But she is not a dwarf herself!" cried Fili. "And she is so young!"

"Master, or should I address you as Prince Fili, anyway, I am a quarter dwarf on my father's side hence the thickness of my hair and I am four and eighty years." I retorted.

"That only makes you two years older than me and seven for Kili! How can you teach us dwarvish history and lore if you have never lived with us?"

"She will not be teaching you just those subjects, you will be learning Elvish, Man, Fairy and Hobbit history and lore as well." replied Gandalf. "You are to be princes, and with the world being as it is today you cannot be only knowledgable in Dwarf culture."

"Now see here Gandalf," growled the tattooed Dwarf. "I don't think our leader will be happy with elvish teachings!" Dwarves' hatred for elves and vice versa was well known, and in my opinion stupid.

"I have spoken to our leader and he, though none too happy about it, agreed to have these teachings taught to the young princes."

"But Gandalf!" shouted the two young dwarf princes. They were immediately cut off by a loud knock on the door.

"He is here." said Gandalf. I suddenly remembered the dwarf I bumped into, and put Gandalf, the dwarves and Bilbo together and realized who was at the door. Bilbo and the rest of the company headed to the door. I beehived to the kitchen and then to the study. I heard the door open and hid even further into the study hoping my body would blend into the wall.

"Gandalf… I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way twice, would lost it a third time if it hadn't been that mark on the door." Bollocks! It was him!

"A.. A mark?! There's no mark, I had this door painted a week ago!" Oh poor Bilbo.

"There is a mark, I put it there myself this after noon." remarked Gandalf.

"Oh, Leia is not going to be pleased about this," then there was a pause. "Leia? Where did she go?"

"Bilbo Baggins, let me introduce you to the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield." Knowing Gandalf he was probably trying to buy time before I made my appearance known and remarked about the mark.

"So,… this is the Hobbit." came a deep timbre. Could anyone sound more condescending? "Tell me Mister Baggins have you done much fighting?"

"What?" asked said flustered hobbit.

"Axe or sword, which is your weapon of choice?"

"Well, I have some skill in conkers if you must know," bless him for his naivety. "But I fail to see why that is relevant?"

"Thought as much…" he snidely remarked. "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." Everyone laughed, even Gandalf though his was a nervous one. "It seems we are two short. Where is the hunter and the tutor Gandalf?"

Oh dear, "Well, you see Thorin I have found a better solution. Two in one, both tutor and hunter."

"Where is he then?"

"She, uncle." I heard Kili reply. "Gandalf got us a hybrid to teach us."

"A hybrid?!" exclaimed Oakenshield. "What sort of hybrid?"

"Well, you see…" started Gandalf. "She is a quarter human and quarter dwarf on her father's side."

"And the other half?"

"Well, she's quarter fairy as well…" Gandalf was getting nervous. If what I read is true Thorin Oakenshield despised Elves and I had elvish blood in my veins.

"And the other fraction Gandalf?" Oakenshield was getting impatient.

"Well,… umm… don't be quick to anger Thorin, but… you see… she is…" I held my breath. "Part elf…"

"WHAT?!" he screamed. "YOU WOULD HAVE THE HEIRS OF DURIN BE TAUGHT BY A DIRTY ELF BLOODED-"

"Now see here!" Valar bless Bilbo for interrupting that rude dwarf. "She is an excellent person, with fine manners, great skill with metal and wood, a good shot when it comes to hunting, and the most intelligent mind you will ever find."

"She lacks patience though," muttered that tattooed dwarf.

"She was defending me her friend, but other than that she is slow to anger!"

"Why don't you meet her?" asked the dwarf with the tea. "She's not all that bad, wasn't above accepting my tea."

There was murmuring being done, when finally Thorin said, "Fine! Where is this hunter of yours?"

"Her name is Leia of the Shire, and you would do well to treat her properly her life has been hard as it is…" said Gandalf.

"Like ours' haven't," said Thorin.

"Any way, Leia! Oh were on earth did she go?" he only noticed now? "Come out Leia, I know you are still here and it would be rude to not introduce yourself to the leader of the company."

I huffed, this was going to be a long night. I made my way to the front entrance and locked eyes with the rudest dwarf I'd ever met. "Leia of the Shire, at your service."


	4. Chapter 4

**SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, LOTS OF SCHOOL HAPPENING. THIS TAKES A LOT FROM THE RECENT JANE EYRE MOVIE. HOPE YOU LIKE IT. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING BUT MY OC.**

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><p>"You!" Exclaimed Thorin. His finger was now pointed at my face. "You're the young woman who caused my fall earlier!"<p>

My head which had been lowered looked up, a retort on the tip of my tongue when I finally saw all of him. That's when the feeling of being flooded with warmth and then fire took over me. Oh Valar! Why? That blasted fairy blood had kicked in and had decided that, this rude dwarf, Thorin Oakenshield, was my One. I paled instantly. "I... Umm..."

Bilbo turned to me concerned, "Leia, are you alright, friend? You don't look so well."

Gandalf stepped in front of me and said to the rest of the company, "Dori," he motioned to the tea loving dwarf. "Why don't you get our leader a bowl of stew?"

The dwarves left the entry way, Thorin kept his eyes on me then turned to follow the rest of his kin. Bilbo lingered though, "Leia, dear." I turned to him, my eyes still wide and dilated. "Are you alright?"

I nodded in response, he wasn't convinced though. "You know," he started. "I meant what I said earlier, about us being friends. You always were."

I was about to reply when we were interrupted by Gandalf, "Bilbo, would you mind if I spoke to Leia alone?"

"Of course," the hobbit replied. He gave me a pat on my shoulder, "I'll be in the drawing room."

Once Bilbo left I turned to Gandalf, I lowered my voice and said, "We must talk outside." The wizard nodded, and we exited the hobbit hole. Once we were outside of Bilbo's gate I turned to Gandalf, "Gandalf! Why him? Why must he be my One!?"

Gandalf looked confused and then it hit me, he didn't know that that was what had upset me so. "Oh my dear child, I thought you were just intimidated by the dwarf!"

"Gandalf, what do I do?" I looked in the direction of the dwarves and caught the blue eyes of my One. "This is not supposed to have happened!"

"What is it that you are so worried about?" asked Gandalf.

"I don't want to be compelled to like someone! I wish this fairy blood was just blood, no magic involved. I wanted to, if ever, find someone who I loved or could grow to love. Not be forced into such a situation as this."

Gandalf looked between Thorin and I and then back at me, "My dear, you still have that choice. You do not have to fall in love with him, all you have to be is what he needs. And right now, I do believe he needs you on this journey."

"I highly doubt he wants me on this journey," I then look at Gandalf, my eyes narrowing. "I bet you didn't even tell him that I was part elf!"

Before Gandalf could reply, a large shout was heard. "SHE'S PART ELF?!"

"Well now he does know," replied Gandalf.

"I thought you said that he needed me to tutor his nephews in elvish and other worldly cultures?" I inquired. I looked nervously at the troupe of dwarves all staring in our direction while Bilbo sat near his oven smoking nervously.

"I told him that his nephews needed all that knowledge, and I did inform Master Thorin about your heritage minus that one part of you…"

Before I could speak we were interrupted by a deep, grumpy voice. "She is not to be a part of my company."

"Thorin, you will need her especially when the journey gets tough and you'll need food," replied Gandalf.

"We can hunt on our own."

"Dwarves are not known for their soft footedness, or for a lack of a better word, stealth. You will scare any chance for food and will starve on your way to Ererbor."

Thorin, now very annoyed, then replied, "We don't need a tree loving, school girl to help us. We are all grown dwarves, we don't need HER help."

My anger had then piqued and before I knew it, all the metal hinges in Bilbo's door went flying. In all the years since my days with my human relatives, I had kept my powers in check and now suddenly all that time and effort in controlling them had all failed. "I am no school girl Master Dwarf."

"Could have fooled me." There were many "ayes" that followed. The dwarf king looked at Gandalf and said, "I shall see about this Burglar of your's, Gandalf, and then I shall see about this girl."

Not wanting to talk to the dwarf any longer, I turned towards Bilbo's sitting room where I took out my paper rolled weed and began smoking. My mind drifted off as the dwarves spoke to Bilbo. All the while, all I could think of was the situation I was now in. How could I get away from it? Now bound to this rude dwarf, I could not live in my small cottage. If the dwarf won back his mountain I could not return to Hobbiton. Even if he failed, I could never come back. If he died during this quest I would die with him. The fates were cruel, my life of quiet serenity was now over within just mere hours.

I was then brought out of my thoughts when I heard something, or someone, fall. Apparently Bilbo had fainted when the contract was given to him by the elderly dwarf, Balin, as I later learned, listed all the possible ways he could die and the funeral arrangements that followed. Poor Bilbo, his home was filled to the brim with dwarves and now he's been overwhelmed with the possibility of death.

"Leia, my dear." I looked up to see Gandalf standing in the hallway, "He requests your presence."

I looked behind him and all the dwarves minus Thorin stood behind him, with the tattooed dwarf, Dwalin, I believe, was carrying Bilbo over his shoulder. Gandalf noticed where I was looking and then added, "Alone."

I sighed, I stood up and dusted off some stray remnants of weed that had fallen out of my joint. The walk to the dining room was the longest I had ever experienced, and the most dread-filled. When I finally arrived before the dwarf-king, he was looking me up and down. He examined me and when, I suppose, he found something adequate in my person he told me to sit in the chair opposite of him. After a minute of silence he begins his interrogation, "It seems you have taken great pains to become so knowledgable with the world. Or so Gandalf tells me; you can read and write both Khuzdul and Elvish, such a great feat even for someone who has lived as long as you have."

"Thank you, Master Thorin." I replied.

"You've been living here for almost 35 years?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"And from whence do you hail? What's your tale of woe?"

"I beg your pardon, sir?"

"All loners have a tale of woe. I would like to incline about yours."

"I have no tale of woe, sir." I say. I look him in the eye, not at all intimidated by the dwarf. "I grew up with my human relatives during my early years, I then went under the care and teachings of the Lady Galadriel who then sent me to Radagast the Brown who then sent me to Gandalf. When I reach fifty years Gandalf had given me the cottage that is my current residency. I've received as a good an education I could hope for from so many a great mentors. As you can see, I have no tale of woe."

"And where are your parents?" Such an ignorant question, but the dwarf asked anyway.

"Dead."

"Do you remember them?"

"No," I kept my voice leveled. I did not want to get on this dwarf's bad sad, for if I insulted him then he'd doubt Gandalf. And for all the things Gandalf has put me through he still did not deserve to have his reputation faulted in any way.

"And why are you not with your human relations? Or that of the elves and two wizards?"

"They cast me off, sir. My human relations that is."

"Why?"

"Because I was burdensome and they disliked me."

"And the elves and the wizards?"

"The elves can only deal so much with a dwarf never mind mixed breed, Lady Galadriel could only keep the peace for so long. She then sent me to Radagast whose sense of living and diet I could not completely commit to."

"His diet being?"

"Mushrooms, mostly plants. I could only go so long without fish and meat that I eventually taught my self how to shoot game. He's friends with the animals of the wood and did not take to my hunting. He sent me to Gandalf, though we still parted on friendly terms, and from their Gandalf taught me how to wield a sword and how to hunt."

"Your relationship seems to be a good one, why did he leave you here?" he spread his arms out, motioning to the quaint quietness of Bag End.

"He deemed it time for me to be able to fend for myself, I eventually rebuilt the cottage and started working as a smith and a handiperson, particularly for Master Baggins's family."

"No tale of woe, you say?" His gaze is direct and scrutinizing. I do not reply for I have no more to say to him.

At this point Gandalf chirps in, "Leia has been a great help to the Shire in these last thirty-five years. Also has done a great job being self-sufficient-"

"Don't trouble yourself to give her character," the dwarf rudely interrupts. "I'll judge her for myself. I have her to thank for my earlier tumble." His eyes more intense than before, he continues, "You bewitched me."

"I did not."

"Were you waiting for your people on that road?"

I looked at him confused, "My what, sir?"

"I mean for the imps and the sprites and little green men."

"The sad truth is they are all gone," I reply. "Your presence is not wild nor savage enough for them."

Everyone who wasn't looking now was, my gaze was just as direct as the dwarf's and I did not falter under it. Thorn chuckles, "You are a peculiar one, I'll give you that Miss Leia. Well I can see no real fault in you other than that bit of elf, welcome to the company. We leave tomorrow at dawn, good night."

With that I took my leave. Once out of the door I kept my pace steady till Bag End was no longer in view and then I ran. I ran fast and did not let my feet slow till I was back in my cottage. I sat near the hearth and smoked my joint, my eyes lost in the fire. I was brought back to the present with a knock on my door. I went to open it and found Gandalf standing outside with his hands behind his back. "You did well," he said. His face was not at ease though. "We must talk, and I cannot promise you will get much sleep tonight or any night after this."

I nodded and let him in. A long night was ahead with many more to follow.

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